Writers: Joe Quesada & Jimmy Palmiotti
Artists: Lee Moder, Chris Garcia(c)
Publisher: Dynamite
If any reader believed I would give a book that has the heroine downed by a bullet that "chips" her spine, yet she not only gets back up again but also performs a running tackle against one of the bad guys, anything less than four bullets, I'll have to assume that you're new to my reviews. Hello, my name is Ray Tate. I believe keeping Babs Gordon in a wheel chair is a prime example of DC's rampant misogyny.
That's all right. If DC continues to promote a hatred of women through the mistreatment of their female characters, I'll go elsewhere. Such a place is Painkiller Jane. Jane's tough. She cares when few else will care, and she wastes no words when bullets adequately speak for her.
In the previous issue, Detective Maureen Fernandez, Jane's former partner on the force, tipped Jane off to a miserable crime--sexual slavery. Jane, being the hero of the story, proceeded to execute those responsible.
Sexual slavery isn't an unrealistic crime. Millions have been shackled in the real world. The difference in Jane's world is that she exists. That's one of the whole points of genre fiction. Take something that's real, use it as the basis of a story and change the outcomes. Genre fiction isn't meant to point out the problems of the world and make you think. It's meant to give you an escape from the problems that already exist. If you think as well as escape, if you learn new things about the world you live in through the fictional world of the hero, that's all good, but genre fiction, especially that of the super-hero, is meant to entertain.
This issue, Jane follows the chain of evidence to the criminal source. Despite the ever-present snowfall, events for Jane begin to boil. Some of the vermin she slew were dirty cops. Their secret lives were unknown, and to the force, Jane is just a cop-killer. An understandable misjudgment in her methodical quest for justice further exacerbates her situation.
Quesada's and Palmiotti's story in terms of mechanics and flow lacks a single flaw. Characterization is strong. The plot is believable and possesses unusual vigor. Lee Moder's artwork compliments all with superb cinematography of action and quieter scenes of Jane preparing to mete out justice. His Jane is tall and lanky but powerful and dangerous looking. She lacks the anorexic teenager and emotionally dead looks that have degraded comic book art. Chris Garcia's colors emblazon the story with the crimson of Jane's hair and sunglasses and gory scarlet when the tables turn against her. Painkiller Jane's return continues to be welcome. The creative team gives readers their best.
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